


just a cold

by mercu



Category: Free!
Genre: Free! Kink Meme, Gen, Kid!Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-02
Updated: 2014-09-02
Packaged: 2018-02-15 21:42:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2244405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mercu/pseuds/mercu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>inspired by <a href="http://iwatobiswimclub.dreamwidth.org/893.html?thread=10365#cmt10365">this</a> prompt</p><p>Rin has a cold. Makoto insists on walking him home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	just a cold

**Author's Note:**

> a note about rin's grandmother: i only read a part of the first high speed novel; the second one, i didn't read at all and from this limited amount of information i assumed, incorrectly it seems, that she was dead when rin moved to iwatobi. so, just for the duration of this fic, lets pretend that this is how it actually happened.

It's almost unnoticeable at first. A small sniffle and a few sneezes are hardly a cause for alarm. So Makoto doesn't say anything.

The next day, however, the sniffling and sneezing is more intense, and by the time the coughing fit starts, Makoto's properly concerned. He glances at Haru. A casual observer wouldn't notice any divergence from a previously neutral expression, but Makoto can read Haru's face like an open book. He can clearly see the slight frown, the downturned corners of his lips.

Perhaps he wouldn't admit it out loud, but Haru is worried too.

So Makoto asks, for the both of them. “Rin-chan, are you feeling okay?”

The redhead looks at him incredulously. “Of course I'm oh- ah-” _Sneeze_. “-okay.” He laughs sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “It's just a cold.” This time when he sneezes, he's able to hold it off until after he finishes the sentence. “Don't worry about me.”

Makoto exchanges a worried look with Haru. Neither of them is convinced, but it's obvious that Haru won't press the issue, so Makoto takes it upon himself to bring Rin to reason.

“Rin-chan, you should take better care of yourself. If you have a cold, it's better to stay at home.” Makoto scolds the readhead. Rin pouts in response, and Makoto can't help but giggle. The expression reminds him of the face his little siblings make when things don't go their way. Then, a realization hits him. “...You weren't thinking about going to the swimming club today, were you?” The way Rin flushes and looks away with a guilty expression is answer enough.

“That won't do at all.” Makoto sighs. “You should go home and get some rest.”

Rin frowns. “I said I'm fine...” He mumbles, but it's weak and feeble, and the sneeze that follows renders his words even less convincing. Still, Rin is prone to dramatics, so Makoto decides to take an extra precaution to assure his cooperation.

“I'll walk you. No running today, okay?” His face is kind, but his voice is stern.

Rin doesn't argue. “Okay, okay, I get it already.” He rests his head on his arms and closes his eyes. “No need to get so pushy...” His voice is sullen, but there's a tiny smile on his lips.

-

Haru is somewhat disgruntled when Makoto bids him farewell for the day, but quietly accepts it nonetheless. Makoto waves at his retreating back a couple times, then catches up to Rin.

The redhead is walking fast, and Makoto's afraid that he'll break into a run any moment, so he catches Rin's hand and firmly clasps it in his own, then slows down their pace.

“We don't need to hurry. When you're sick it's best to take it easy.” Rin's face, already red from the cold wind, flushes even further.

“I know. I'm just used to running.”

The walk is long but pleasant. Rin is a relentless blabber and Makoto enjoys the opportunity to chat, even if it's occasionally interrupted by a fit of sneezing. It's refreshing; Haru is a good friend and his company is delightful, but he's never made a great conversation partner.

Rin never lets go of his hand.

-

The house is dark and empty. In truth, Makoto finds it a little scary. He hunches his shoulders and crowds behind Rin.

“I guess I'll go now. Take care of yourself, okay?” He mumbles at Rin's back, starting to turn away. Rin visibly tenses. There's a sharp intake of breath and a pause before he finally speaks in a small voice.

“D- Don't go yet.” It stops Makoto in his tracks.

“Huh?”

“I mean, we can play a game-” In the middle of a sentence, he briefly breaks into a cough,“-or watch tv. I don't mind either way.”

Rin is still facing away from him. In this big, empty house, he looks small and lost. Makoto lays a calming hand on his shoulder and smiles widely when the other boy turns to look up at him.

“...Okay. But you have to let me use the phone so I can call my parents.”

Rin's answering grin is blinding.

-

They play cards for a while, and then end up in front of the tv. Rin insists that he doesn't care what they watch, so even though the selection is small, Makoto spends the first couple of minutes gleefully browsing through the channels. These days, unable to resist his siblings' pleading eyes, he's rarely afforded the luxury at home.

When he finally settles on a movie, he finds out that Rin is a noisy watcher who remarks on anything and everything. Makoto doesn't mind. At times, Rin's commentary is more interesting than the movie.

At some point, Rin begins to gradually quiet down and then finally dozes off against Makoto's shoulder. His mouth is open and he's drooling a little, but Makoto can't bring himself to move the other boy and risk waking him up. He finds that watching the movie without Rin's constant chattering isn't quite as amusing anymore, even if he can hear the dialogue better now, and his mind wanders.

Soon afterwards, the sound of Rin's regular breathing lulls him to sleep.

-

A cramp in his arm jolts Makoto into consciousness. Once awake, he realizes that the stiffness in his limb is caused by Rin using it as a pillow.

He gently shakes the redhead awake, then gingerly massages his biceps as the other boy blinks blearily and slowly rises.

Rin sneezes, then mumbles, “s-so c-cold,” before hugging himself. He's shaking visibly, and Makoto mentally berates himself for letting him fall asleep on the floor when he has a cold.

“I'm so sorry!” He stammers, but Rin only looks up at him in surprise, as if asking 'what for?'

“I n-need a blanket.” He stammers through chattering teeth, then sneezes again and shuffles off into another room.

The tv is still running, so Makoto turns it off. The movie they've been watching Is long over.

He can't help but stare when Rin returns. Almost drowning in the blanket he's wrapped in, he looks ridiculous.

“What? What are you-” A cough. “What are you looking at?” The words snap him out of a daze, and Makoto blushes furiously.

“N-Nothing!” He exclaims, but Rin continues staring him down.

Then he sneezes, and Makoto bursts out laughing.

“Oh, shut up already.” Mumbles Rin, burrowing further into the blanket.

It takes Makoto a while to calm down. Rin continues glowering from under his blanket cocoon even after his laughter subsides, but the spell is already broken. There's nothing scary about that look now.

A rumble from his stomach makes him realize how hungry he is, and that it must be rather late. Yet, the house seems to still be empty aside for the two of them.

“Hey, when are your parents coming home?”

Rin's eyes widen briefly and then he looks down and shifts under his blanket. “I... I live alone.”

“Wh- What?” The response takes him aback completely. “What do you mean alone? Did they go on a trip?”

Rin shakes his head. “My dad is... Dad is gone.” He sniffles a little, and Makoto isn't sure it's because of the cold. “And mom stayed behind in Sano with my little sister when I transferred to Iwatobi.”

Makoto doesn't know how to respond. “But... Why?” As much as he tries, he just can't make sense of that.

“This is my grandma's home. Was. Until she died. Then it passed to us. And I figured it would be better to live closer to the school, so...” There's a movement from beneath the blankets that looks like a shrug, and then Rin changes the subject. “I heard your stomach rumble. You want something to eat?”

The mention of food makes his mouth water, but it also makes him aware of the time. “I should go. It's getting late.” He mumbles and tries not to cringe when Rin's expression falls.

“Oh.” He pauses, and then smiles. Makoto's relieved, even if it is a little forced. “Yeah, you're probably right... But, we should still eat first. I mean, it's a long way from here. What if you collapse from hunger on your way home?”

Makoto opens his mouth. Closes it. Considers.

Then he rolls his eyes and decides to go with it. He really _is_ quite hungry. “Fine, but I really need to get going after, okay?” He gives in with a sigh.

It's nearly an hour and a half before they finish cooking and eating, and Makoto suspects it's entirely intentional on Rin's part. Nonetheless, for all his efforts, he eventually runs out of excuses.

-

In the doorway, Makoto chides gently. “Stay at home tomorrow, okay?”

Rin only grunts in response. He'd discarded his ridiculous blanket when they were making food, but now he's wrapped in it head to toe again. Makoto takes a long look at him, then glances inside that dark, empty house, remembering how scary it looked the first time he saw it. Could it be...? Rin's usually so good with taking care of himself, for the sake of his swimming. There has to be a good reason for him to act so irresponsibly.

“Rin-chan, are you lonely, living here by yourself? Is that why you came to school today?” It's the only thing that makes sense.

Rin flushes and ducks his head. “A... A little bit.” He admits after a moment. He glances at Makoto and then looks away again. “As long as I get to spend some time with you guys at school and at the club, it's fine, but when I thought about spending the whole day here, all by myself...” He trails off, nervously playing with the hem of the blanket, causing it to slip off his arms a little.

Makoto steps closer and fixes it, then, after a moment of consideration, gives Rin a tight hug.

“I'll come by tomorrow after school, so get plenty of rest before that, okay?”

Rin looks up hopefully. “But... What about swimming practice?”

“You're more important than swimming practice.” Makoto announces sternly and pretends he doesn't see the tears in the other boy's eyes. “See you tomorrow!”

He tries not to wonder too much about the sniffles he can hear from behind as he walks away.

-

The next day, Haru's annoyed with him for leaving him alone at the swimming club again, but the way Rin grins at him when he opens the door is way worth it.


End file.
